


Our Finest Gifts

by hanbanana



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bell Ringer Enjolras, Christmas, Fluff, M/M, Mall Santa Grantaire, so many christmas tropes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 11:16:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2848910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanbanana/pseuds/hanbanana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Enjolras liked doing volunteer work over the holidays. Really, he did. He loved being about to inform people about important causes they may have never heard about before. He liked knowing that he was helping to make a difference through his collection for charities, even if it was small one, and he knew the organization he was collecting for had the people it was helping as its primary interest.</p>
<p>Sometimes, though, he had trouble keeping his own feelings out of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Our Finest Gifts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blamefincham](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blamefincham/gifts).



Enjolras liked doing volunteer work over the holidays. Really, he did. He loved being about to inform people about important causes they may have never heard about before. He liked knowing that he was helping to make a difference through his collection for charities, even if it was small one, and he knew the organization he was collecting for had the people it was helping as its primary interest. 

Sometimes, though, he had trouble keeping his own feelings out of it. 

 

 

"Excuse me, M'am, would you like to make a donation to help those in need in our community?"

"Oh, I love seeing you Salvation Army Santas out this time of year. It's so nice."

The elderly woman smiled as she pulled a coin purse out of her bag, beginning to count out change to put into his collection pot.

"Thank you very much for your donation, but I'm not with Salvation Army."

Enjolras tried to keep the annoyance out of his tone. It really was wearing on his nerves, having to make the same speech for what felt like the hundredth time this week.

"Oh no? I thought it was just another name for it on your sign there."

"The Salvation Army has a history of being actively against the LGBT community so much so that they sometimes refuse give people who aren't cisgendered and or heterosexual food and shelter, or attempt to make them give up their "lifestyle". Money donated to them also goes toward supporting lobbyists attempting to have anti-gay policies passed worldwide. This charity, on the other hand, has no background political motivations, and it solely devoted to helping people in this community that need it the most, without discrimination."

The woman looked taken aback and more than a little confused.

"Oh, um, my mistake young man. You have a good Christmas," she said hurriedly as she moved away from his post and back into the crowd of holiday shoppers, quickly blending back into the masses.

"Don't think she was expecting to hear a social justice rant from the bell ringer she was donating to," said a smirking voice behind him. Enjolras turned around to see the mall Santa from the “North Pole” area nearby, apparently on break, though still in full costume. "Seriously, didn't they train you not to scare away the charitable people?" 

"She had already donated anyway. Besides, it's something people need to be educated about, Salvation Army is not the holy grail of charities that people make it out to be."

"It's the holidays, people just want to feel like they're doing something good- they don't really care where the money goes."

"I don't think that's true at all. If they knew what that organization was doing with their money and how discriminatory they were being towards people in need, they would stop donating to them."

"What a naive way of looking at people," the Santa chuckled, shaking his head. "You really think people are driven to donate out of the goodness of their hearts and not because of social expectations and personal gain? Sorry to burst your bubble there, Apollo."

“My name is Enjolras.”

“Grantaire. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my adoring fans await,” he said with a smirk, gesturing down the length of the mall toward a line of parents and children that must have stretched quite a distance if it was coming from the mall’s “North Pole” area. "Try not to scare off any other charitable people."

 

 

It wasn’t until nearly a week later that Enjolras had another encounter with Mall Santa Grantaire, about whom he had texted Courfeyrac and Combeferre excessively. He was a little embarrassed about that in retrospect, but at least it was highly unlikely Mall Santa Grantaire would ever meet either of them. Their next meeting occurred when Enjolras’ Aunt asked him to do her a favour and bring his little cousin Aimee to meet Santa. He agreed, and they decided that she would be dropped off after his evening shift was over to avoid crowds and let his Aunt get some shopping done.

When eight-thirty rolled around, Enjolras handed off his duties to the next volunteer and headed to the food court to find his Aunt.

 

“I’m so glad you agreed to this, Amiee has been very excited to see you all day,” his Aunt told him with a smile. She then turned her attention to her daughter. “Now you make sure to be on your best behaviour. Do you remember what you’re asking Santa for?”

Aimee nodded vigorously, swinging her and Enjolras’ clasped hands.

“Alright. I’ll see you two later.”

“Bye-bye Mommy!” The four year old waved as the woman retreated, then looked up at Enjolras with big blue eyes. “Up?” she asked, reaching with grabby hands.

“How about a piggy-back ride?” The resulting squeal of delight made him laugh and he crouched down so she could clamber on, small arms wrapping tight around his neck. He stood up slowly and glanced over his shoulder at her. “How’s that?”

“Good! I wanna see Santa!”

 

When they arrived, Enjolras was surprised to find that there was no line-up. Granted, it was late and there was only about half an hour left before the mall closed. He walked through the empty line-up area, marked off by red velour ropes, toward the entrance gate. A petite girl in an elf costume met them there and smiled brightly over his shoulder at Aimee, who was practically wiggling in excitement. 

“Are you here to see Santa?”

“Yes!”

“You can both come on in.” 

She opened the gate and Enjolras followed her into the "North Pole". It was nicely decorated, with cotton snow on the ground, large fake Christmas trees framing Santa’s chair and beautifully wrapped presents strewn about. There was even a miniature cabin behind the large chair, marked “Santa’s Workshop”, which Enjolras guessed also served as a changing area for the cast members. He smiled at Grantaire when he noticed that he was indeed the Santa for the evening, then crouched down so Aimee could climb off his back.

“Ready to sit on Santa’s lap?” he asked, turning to face her. She nodded and held out her hand, which he took as he stood up, walking over to the chair with her. The female elf moved to stand next to him. 

“Alright, up we go.”

She lifted Aimee onto Mall Santa Grantaire’s lap and Enjolras moved back to stand near the entrance gate. The little girl was delighted, and began rambling off her short list to Mall Santa Grantaire, who listened attentively, nodding after each item and letting out a kind laugh when she was finished. 

“Have you been a good girl this year?”

“Yes! I help mommy clean!”

“That’s very good. Make sure you keep being good and I’ll see what I can do about those toys you want,” he said with a wink, making the little girl giggle. “Now, do you see my elf friend over there? She’s going to take our picture. Can you show me a big smile?” She grinned at the camera, which promptly took multiple pictures.

Aimee continued talking animatedly to Mall Santa Grantaire while Enjolras paid the photographer for the pictures his Aunt wanted. When that was done, she went over and lifted Aimee off of Mall Santa Grantaire’s lap. 

“Would you like a treat bag for being so good for Santa? Let’s go get you one.”

The little girl eagerly took her hand and she led her off to the side where a small collection of gift bags were stacked. Enjolras watched her go, glancing behind him to make sure there wasn't anyone in line to see Santa before walking over to Grantaire, who was still sitting in his chair. 

“And have you been a good boy this year?” Grantaire asked him with a smirk, raising one eyebrow.

Enjolras rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “Isn't that something you should already know?" That earned him a grin from behind a fluffy white fake beard. "Is it always this quiet around this time?”

Grantaire checked to make sure Aimee was out of earshot before turning back to Enjolras and replying. “Yeah, most of the crowd is gone by eight, especially the little ones.”

“That must be nice, at least. Are you working tomorrow?” Receiving a nod, Enjolras pressed further. “Do you want to meet up for lunch maybe? I've got a morning shift that ends at eleven-thirty and I'm interested to hear what else you have to say about the shortcomings of the human race.”

Grantaire gave him a bemused smile, pausing a beat too long before he replied. “Yeah, sure, that’d be cool. Do you want to meet up at the food court entrance at quarter to twelve? I need time to change and make myself not look like I've been sweating buckets under this suit.”

“Ras look what I got!” 

A small hand tugging on his pant leg startled Enjolras before he could reply, and he looked down to see Amiee holding up her goodie bag to show him. “Oh wow! What’s in there?”

“So much! A horsie and a candy and a colouring book! Even crayons!”

“Should we go show your mom what you got and the pictures of you with Santa?”

“Yes!”

“Alright, hold my hand- don’t want you getting lost.” Taking her hand, he moved to leave. “Bye Santa, have a good night,” he added with a grin, giving Grantaire a little wave before they left to go meet up with his Aunt again.

 

 

Their lunch the next day went better than Enjolras had expected. Grantaire was a very good conversationalist and had very interesting, though sometimes controversial, opinions on just about everything. He claimed to believe in nothing, but Enjolras wasn't quite sure he was as skeptical of absolutely everyone as he let on. They debated back and forth for most of the hour on a number of different topics, and Enjolras enjoyed himself. At the end of it, they exchanged numbers and agreed to meet for lunch again the next day. 

Their lunch meetings continued through the month, nearly every day, but neither of them grew tired of always having the same company. On the contrary, every meeting brought something new to the table. Often they debated, but not always. They swapped stories about their jobs, Grantaire having some of the funniest, and surprisingly, some of the saddest, mostly revolving around what kids asked him for as Christmas gifts. By a week before Christmas, they had only known each other for about a month, but Enjolras definitely considered Grantaire a friend. He was also definitely still harbouring a crush on him, which had only intensified the more they bonded. He decidedly did not tell Courfeyrac about these lunches or the crush, knowing the teasing he would definitely have to endure because of it. 

 

 

Enjolras stopped by the "North Pole" after his shift, smiling to himself as he watched Grantaire talking to a very animated little girl on his lap, presumably describing her Christmas wish list to Santa. Most of the stores were closing up and he was surprised that the parent and child were still here this late in the evening. They seemed to be the last visit to Santa for the night, though, and as they left, Grantaire seemed to notice Enjolras standing by the gate marked as the entrance. He raised an eyebrow and walked over, waving to his co-worker Eponine, one of the photographers, as she left. 

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Wanted to know if you needed a ride home- you take the bus here, right?"

"Good memory, Apollo. I'm fine though, the buses still run at this time of night."

"Have you looked outside recently? It's practically a blizzard out there. I figured the buses might be down with the weather this bad."

Grantaire frowned at that and considered Enjolras' offer. 

"I wouldn't want to make you go out of your way if the weather's shit."

"It's fine, I'd feel better knowing you got home safe."

Grantaire smiled a little at that before turning and heading toward the small structure marked "Santa’s Workshop", calling over his shoulder as he walked, "I'll get changed quick then, give me a second."

When Grantaire exited the little building a few minutes later, he was wearing his street clothes and running his hand though his dark curls, which caused them to stick up in a hilarious manner before he pulled a green beanie over his head. He flashed Enjolras a grin, adjusting the bag on his back and shoving his hands into his coat pockets.

“Good to go?”

“Yeah, I’m ready to get out of here.”

 

It was worse that Enjolras had expected from his glance outside earlier. Just making it to his car was a struggle, and he was already dreading dealing with the roads in these conditions. The wind howled, trying to tug Grantaire's beanie from his head. Thankfully Enjolras had snagged a parking spot near the mall’s entrance that morning, so they didn't have too far to walk.

Once in the vehicle, Enjolras cranked up the heat and shook the snow from his hair as best he could. Grantaire stared at him for a moment before quickly looking away when he realized he'd been caught, taking his beanie off and brushing the snow from it instead.

“I've got to clear off the windows, you can put on the radio or something if you’d like,” Enjolras said, reaching into the back seat for the brush before opening his door and stepping back into the heavy snowfall.

He made quick work of getting the snow and ice off the windows, not wanting to be outside for longer than was necessary in this weather. Once the car was cleared off and they were on the road, Enjolras tried his hand at small talk. “So how was your day?”

“One kid pissed on my lap, definitely the opposite of the highlight of my day.”

Enjolras winced sympathetically. “Seriously?”

“The mother was so embarrassed. Got me an extended dinner break while they had the suit cleaned, since it was almost time anyway. I’m just glad it didn't leak through. On the other hand, sometimes toddlers say the best things- one kid asked for ‘wots of fucks’. I know he meant trucks, but man.” He laughed, shaking his head. “Today wasn't too bad, though, I've had worse. How about you? Oh, turn left here.”

“It was alright. Not nearly as exciting as yours.”

“Come on, nothing interesting happened?” 

“Saw a five year old punch his dad in the crotch because he wouldn't buy him the toy he wanted.”

“Holy shit.”

The drive continued on in that manner, the two passing comfortable banter back and forth until Enjolras had parked in the underground lot of Grantaire’s apartment building. Grantaire unbuckled his seat belt and reached for the handle of the car door, then hesitated.

“Hey, um, do you want to come in? I mean the storm’s only getting worse and you heard the radio, they’re advising drivers to get off the road as soon as they can and all. Just to wait it out until it calms down a little bit?”

Enjolras considered the offer, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. Grantaire was right, the weather hadn't gotten any better during their drive- seemed to be escalating even, and he knew it wasn't safe driving weather, but- “Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose.”

“Yeah definitely, it’s fine. I can make you some coffee or something.”

Enjolras smiled at him and nodded, turning off the car and following Grantaire out and toward the apartment building's entrance, locking it over his shoulder. They took the stairs up, Grantaire muttering something about not wanting to risk the elevator during the storm, especially since it was crappy to start with, and Enjolras wasn't about to argue. It didn't take them long to reach Grantaire’s third floor apartment, and once Grantaire had let them in, Enjolras took a moment to look around. It was a fairly small apartment, and definitely lived in, but it was tidier than he had expected. He left his boots on the mat by the door and after handing Grantaire his coat, at the other’s insistence, carded his fingers through his hair to get the snow out, though it had mostly melted by then.

Once they were in the kitchen, Grantaire set about preparing the coffee, gesturing at the small table and telling Enjolras to make himself comfortable. He flipped on the radio, preset to a station playing Christmas music, which made Enjolras chuckle. Enjolras took a seat on the chair facing the kitchen, watching Grantaire and humming quietly along with the music. It didn't take long before the coffee was ready.

“Thanks,” Enjolras said, taking the steaming cup Grantaire held out for him. He set it on the table in front of him but kept both hands wrapped around it for the warmth it provided. Grantaire nodded in reply, grabbing his own cup and coming to sit across from Enjolras at the kitchen table.

“I hope you didn’t have any plans for tonight that got messed up because of this,” Grantaire said after a few minutes spent silently enjoying their coffee.

“No, not really. Probably would have just been doing some baking for the- oh! I wanted to ask you- one of my friends is throwing a Christmas Eve party, and if you don't already have plans I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go? With me?" Enjolras bit his lip, fidgeting a little as he waited for a reply. 

Grantaire looked surprised, and Enjolras was pretty sure he saw a blush. "I'd really love to, but I already promised my friend Jehan I'd go to one with them, some guy named Courfeyrac's hosting it or something. I don't know the host but Jehan and him are close and yeah, I'm really sorry."

"Courfeyrac?"

"Yeah, I think that was his name."

Enjolras couldn't help but laugh. "Courfeyrac's my friend, he's the host of the party I'm going to too. I guess I'll see you there then."

"Yeah I guess so."

They smiled at each other for a long moment before Grantaire broke eye contact with a cough, glancing over his shoulder at the kitchen.

“Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure I don’t have much for baking lying around- don’t get around to that sort of thing very often.”

“Don’t worry about it. I've got tomorrow off, so I was planning on doing most of it then anyway.” Enjolras paused for a moment as the song on the radio changed, frowning when he recognized it. “I've always hated this song.”

“I would expect nothing less from you,” Grantaire said with a laugh, shaking his head. 

“You can’t tell me that you think it’s sending a positive message. Rudolph gets bullied for his nose, something he can’t control, his whole life, and then as soon as it becomes useful to them, all the other reindeer suddenly want to be his best friend. What does that say to kids?”

“That life sucks and people are cruel. True.”

Enjolras sighed and shook his head. “Let’s not do this right now- do you want to see if there’s a Christmas special on or something?”

 

They fell asleep huddled together on the couch, the credits of Miracle on 34th Street rolling on the television screen.

 

 

The day of the party rolled around quickly. Courfeyrac's apartment was decorated excessively, to the point of almost being obnoxious, with what was probably every Christmas decoration he could find at whatever store he had ransacked. It made Enjolras chuckle as he hugged Courfeyrac, who greeted him eagerly before ushering him inside. Combeferre appeared from around the corner and gave Enjolras his second hug of the evening before offering to take his coat. 

"I know where the closet is," Enjolras countered with a shake of his head as he handed over the maroon coat at Combeferre's insistence. 

He followed his two friends toward the living room, but halted abruptly when he noticed that they were holding hands. That was new. “How could you not tell me?” He demanded, hand over his heart as he feigned betrayal.

The pair turned to look at him, Courfyrac grinning sheepishly and Combeferre a little flushed. 

“It just sort of happened. ‘Ferre was over helping me get this place ready for days and I don’t know, somewhere along the way, ta-da!” Courfeyrac explained, lifting up their joined hands.

“My two best friends got together and they didn't even tell me. I’m hurt.”

“Well how about you and Mall Santa though- you haven’t told us anything about that since ‘holy shit he’s hot’ bit,” Courfeyrac shot back with a smirk.

“Oh. Right. Well, um, actually, he’s here tonight.”

“WHAT?”

“Yeah he’s friends with Jehan, said they had invited him to come too.”

“Oh my god you’re kidding me. This is fate. You and Mall Santa are meant to be,” Courfeyrac sing-songed, Combeferre letting out a chuckle beside him.

“You've got to admit, that’s quite the coincidence.”

“Shut up. And don’t you dare say anything to him about this,” Enjolras said quickly, shooting a glare at Courfeyrac, who smiled innocently.

 

The party went well. Better than well, even. Courfeyrac and Combeferre were the perfect hosts, the food was great and everyone was enjoying themselves. It was great to see all of his friends in one room, something that didn't happen as much as Enjolras would like because of conflicting schedules. But then, it made occasions like this one that much more special. 

He had resolutely not talked about anything related to any social issues so far, which he decided showed great self-restraint. He laughed with Bossuet as Jehan taught Joly how to waltz to “O Holy Night”, Joly biting his lip in concentration as he watched his feet and Jehan grinning as they lead with grace. He swapped stories with Courfeyrac, who was volunteering at a nursing home for the holidays and enjoying it a lot more than he had expected. He had almost forgotten that Grantaire was even there until about a half-hour in, since he hadn't noticed him arriving.

 

Enjolras had just gotten up to refill his cup when he nearly ran into Grantaire.

“Oh shit, I didn't get anything on you did I?” Grantaire asked as he looked down at Enjolras’ shirt, which was thankfully dry. He held a beer in his other hand, and Enjolras was glad to have dodged that bullet. “Sorry about that.”

“It was my fault, don’t worry about it. How are you? I haven’t see you yet tonight.”

“I’m good. Been talking to that guy named Bahorel mostly, he seems pretty cool. Lost Jehan somewhere near the beginning and then I didn't want to intrude on you guys. Did you get all that baking done yesterday?”

“Yeah, the gingerbread and sugar cookies are mine. Bahorel helped me decorate them, actually.”

They were interrupted when Courfeyrac walked past carrying yet another plate of appetizers. "You guys are under the mistletoe. You know that what means," he prompted in a stage-whisper, looking positively giddy. 

They looked up simultaneously and Enjolras could feel his face heat up when he saw that Courfeyrac was telling the truth.

"I guess, um, if you want... it is tradition and all," Grantaire laughed nervously and Enjolras hesitated for another moment, studying his face before leaning in for a kiss. He meant for it to be short, but when he pulled back, Grantaire quickly closed the gap again, a noise of surprise escaping Enjolras as the kiss deepened. His hands moved from their tentative place on Grantaire's shoulders into his wild curls even as he tilted his head to give the other man better access.

When they pulled away, both were breathing heavily and Grantaire looked startled, as if he couldn't believe what had just happened. They stood there a moment staring at each other, but the spell was broken by a loud hoot from nearby. "Get a room," called another voice, and Enjolras turned to see Joly and Bahorel walking past, the former giving them a thumbs up while the latter made lewd gestures with his hands and waggled his eyebrows.

“My friends are the worst,” Enjolras groaned in embarrassment, shaking his head, but Grantaire just grinned at him.

"I don't know, getting a room doesn't sound like such a bad idea," he teased. 

Enjolras shoved at his shoulder before slipping his hand into Grantaire's slightly larger one and leading him back toward the living room. There was still plenty of time for them to get caught under the mistletoe again later. 


End file.
